Cardia (god)
This article is about the god Cardia. For a First Age nation with the same name, see Cardia (nation). Cardia was the God of Order, brother of Hephaestus and the patron deity of the Clergy of Cardia who lived in Starholme. He was the archenemy of Mardük, father of Taliesin and Pooka and leader of the Gods of Light. The kingdom of Cardia was named after him. He and Hephaestus were close friends and he aided Schuldich Cedheros in delivering Hephaestus's magic blades Dawn and Dusk to their intended wielders. He was devoured by the Godslayer at the end of the Great War, which led to the Cataclysm. Biography Early Years Promoting Order Cardia and Hephaestus were born from the Earthmother Gaea. They participated in the War of the Andain to oppose Kagetsu Aurelac de Maar Sul because they didn't want Kagetsu and the Dark Andain to destroy the world. When Kagetsu slew Gaea, Cardia became the new lord of Starholme, a celestial city on the High Plane. Kagetsu was sealed eventually thanks to the actions of Cardia's most trusted servant and son, Taliesin, but this act left Kagetsu's father Mardük in despair. Cardia assumed that Mardük would get over his son's death but little did he know how much Kagetsu's demise had really affected the God of Chaos. Cardia also helped found the Clergy of Cardia as well as the then-young nation of Cardia where he was worshipped as the One God while the clergy denied the existence of other gods. This pissed off many gods, especially Mardük and Artemicia, who didn't like how Cardia tried to get all worshippers for himself. However, Cardia was just doing what he felt was right because he wanted to promote Order through the concept of One God without dividing worshippers into potentially divisive branches. Divine Wars Mardük eventually turned to darkness and began the Chaos War. Cardia and other Gods of Light indirectly helped various heroes fight against the God of Chaos, and he was glad to see Mardük being sealed into an ethereal prison seemingly for all eternity. Although Mardük was incapable of acting, the Clergy of Mardük was still strong, and Nergal and Artemicia also promoted Mardük's cause to Cardia's dismay. Cardia observed the actions of various heroes through the ages of tGA. There were many would-be warlords whom the heroes destroyed sooner or later, and Mardük's release seemed more and more improbable. However, when Kagetsu was released and Arawn Losstarot became a major threat, the world was engulfed in the flames of war. The Andain joined the battle as well, and the world was in the brink of ruin when Arawn was about to release Mardük. Kagetsu's sacrifice put an end to Arawn's schemes and prevented Mardük's resurrection but with a price: the deaths of Kagetsu and Arawn triggered the Explosion which killed many people, including all the Andain, and gave birth to Innate Abilities. Cardia and the other gods now realized that all mortals in the world, and all future generations, would be born with powerful abilities which meant the mortals were only one step below Andain in a power scale. Cardia feared that this was only the beginning of a bigger tragegy yet to come. Distreyd Era Cardia possessed Schuldich Cedheros and later some random chick and gave the sword Dusk, a blade blessed by Hephaestus, to Marcus Sarillius in Aison in 1000 AE. The god explained that Marcus had a destiny ahead of him and needed to use the blade to oppose the schemes of the Gods of War and Chaos. When Schuldich confronted Artemicia who had come to steal the sword Dawn from its destined wielder in Libaterra, Cardia entered Schuldich's body to oppose her. However, Artemicia injured Cardia through his psychic bond with Schuldich by injuring the cleric. Until that moment the God of Order had never experienced the sensation of physical pain, and thus the goddess caught him by surprise and paralyzed him until Schuldich forcibly exorcised Cardia from his body to be able to move. Schuldich was slain a moment later, and Cardia's essence returned to the High Plane while Dawn fell into the hands of Artemicia. Cardia kept a low profile after the confrontation with Artemicia, slowly realizing that she and Nergal were planning to release Mardük with the help of the Clergy of Mardük and the Yamato Empire. Cardia and Hephaestus failed to act in time to stop the dark gods, and the clerics of Mardük succeeded in setting Mardük free while the forces of the Grand Alliance travelled to Yamato to put an end to the reign of darkness as well as the Great War. Death Cardia had to directly intervene when Mardük broke free and appeared in Kageshima during the final battle of the war. The two gods never managed to have a proper fight, however, because the Godslayer appeared and devoured both of them, which began the Cataclysm. Legacy Cardia's death affected his clergy which lost its purpose in the new Age of Emptiness. Many branches of the clergy fell into despair with the loss of their patron deity. However, the charisma of Jonathan Ferron helped to form the remnants of the Remonian branch of the clergy into a new order which became known as the Church of the Memory of Cardia. Meanwhile Hephaestus became the new leader of the Gods of Light and the lord of Starholme. Aliases and Nicknames ; God of Order : His title. ; The One God : What Cardia's followers called him until the Explosion. Appearance Cardia had the golden, godly glow and preferred the form of a wrinkly old man to show off his divine wisdom. He liked to wear white robs to symbolize his connection to the Light. Personality and Traits Cardia was a quiet, contemplative god who rarely caused any ruckus. Some thought this was a sign of cowardice, but Cardia did intervene with mortal affairs when he saw other gods interfering with his plans. Powers and Abilities Cardia was one of the most powerful gods to ever exist but his combat prowess was not so great as other gods' because he rarely took part in battles. He was an eloquent speaker and manage to persuade people to do his bidding with words alone. Relationships Artemicia Artemicia was downright pissed off that Cardia had proclaimed himself as the One God after the Chaos War. She eventually settled the score by causing Cardia pain and killing Cardia's messenger, Schuldich. Cardia did not like Artemicia's pompous attitude but did not openly act against her as he was more concerned about Mardük. Hephaestus Cardia and Hephaestus were brothers and very close. When Cardia died, it hit Hephaestus really hard. Mardük Mardük and Cardia were sworn enemies because they had polarizing points of view about life: Cardia supported Order whereas Mardük supported Chaos. Schuldich Cedheros After Schuldich had been tasked with delivering Hephaestus's blades Dawn and Dusk to their intended wielders, Cardia guided his path and led him to the wielders while informing the wielders through Schuldich that they had a great destiny ahead of them. However, his psychic bond with Schuldich ended up also being a weakness which Artemicia exploited when she hurt Schuldich and Cardia through him. Cardia's inability to defend himself when faced with pain forced Schuldich to excorcise him from his body and take matters into his own hands, which led to his death, and Cardia returned back to the High Plane. Taliesin Taliesin, the Lord of the Andain, was Cardia's son as well as one of the god's greatest agents who ensured that Kagetsu was sealed and that mortal heroes would acquire necessary items to defeat Mardük's pawns in various wars. He was utterly loyal to the gods (including the dark ones), but his respect for Cardia was above anyone else. When Taliesin and all the other Andain were killed in the Explosion, it shocked Cardia who had lost one of the few beings he could trust. See also *Church of the Memory of Cardia *Clergy of Cardia *Pantheon *Pooka *Schuldich Cedheros *Starholme *Taliesin Category:Characters Category:Church of the Memory of Cardia Category:Clergy of Cardia Category:First Age Category:Gods Category:High Plane Category:Second Age Category:Third Age